Illustration by Anna White
Story by Nicolaia Rips
This is the second installment of “TL;DR,” a bimonthly column in which Writer Nicolaia Rips rounds up and reviews the best and worst content people text her.
Okay I’m convinced, this whole thing is an elaborate black mirror episode and we, the unwitting sheeple are getting scammed (SCAMMED I SAY) into being the perfect little labor force for nothing. To be reductive: finding meaning in work is a lie, a lie that motivates people to work even harder, and hard work of that ilk can be draining, depressing, monotonous and degrading. I do appreciate the writers acknowledgement of his own hypocrisy. It’s very hard to tell where the line blurs and if pure love for work and fulfillment in it actually exists, or if it is always a warped kind of love–made toxic by capitalism. As Gen Z starts entering the workforce, we have a societal and personal obligation to be conscious of what we’re perpetuating and buying into, and I found this article puts a lot into perspective. An interesting read, I 100% recommend.
The TL;DR: We often place less value in platonic friendships, and vicariously do less work because society tells us instead to prioritize romantic relationships. Social media and this culture of busyness (read Workism is Making Americans Miserable!) makes it even easier to let friendships fall to the wayside. Personally, I sometimes find myself viewing friendships as acquisitional, and not about maintenance and patience and continuity. I enjoyed this because it felt relevant without being judgemental, served as a good reminder for me to reach out to some people I may have let go of too soon, and made me think about what I value in friends and what value I provide.
While this dark and blurry photo taken of a subway advertisement may seem like nothing to the layperson, to the Intellectual™ (intellectual here refers to the person who ravenously consumes New Zealand’s finest export–the creative content of Taika Waititi, Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie) it signifies the return of perhaps the greatest vampire movie ever to undeadly walk this earth, 2014’s “What We Do in the Shadows”. Like most loyal fans at first I was like “why are they doing this to me how could it be better than the original” but after the first episode I am all aboard the vampire train like it’s 2008 and I’m team Edward. The film, a mockumentary, received a financially underwhelming and limited run in theaters but quickly rose to cult status. It follows a group of thrillingly mundane vampires bumming around Wellington. The TV reboot, which premiered March 27th on FX, revolves around a whole new group of vampires, this time set in Staten Island (which I guess is the New Zealand of the East Coast– small, wacky and everybody has accents). Neither Jemaine nor Taika reanimate their old roles (sad!) but the material still feels pretty fresh and the jokes and tone keep you on your toes. Also Beanie Feldstein is in it. And Vanessa Byer from “SNL”. Come ON.
I got NYU! Thanks Aunt Becky! But let’s get down to brass tacks– this bogus college admissions scandal. Honestly I found it unsurprising yet disgusting. Rich people set up elitist and morally dubious ways to get into elite universities (donations, sports like sailing, legacy, etc.) and when those ways fail (ways that that are already inaccessible to everyone but the 1%) they turn to crime. The system is broken, and this latest scandal is even more evidence of that. Don’t take the quiz, but do read up on the history of college cheating in the “NYT,” some really wacky stuff.